Harrison Barnes and the Kings have agreed to a new, three-year, $54 million contract extension, his agent Jeff Schwartz told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.
Barnes’ contract extension includes a 10% trade kicker, The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported, citing a source with knowledge of the deal.
After four and a half seasons with the Kings, Barnes was expected to hit unrestricted free agency on Friday afternoon, but Sacramento prevented that from happening, locking up a key veteran who helped lead them back to the NBA playoffs this season. last.
The 31-year-old forward started all 82 regular season games last season, averaging 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
The Kings started the week as one of the teams in the NBA with the most salary cap space, with just over $35 million in room, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith. But Barnes’ return to $18 million a season takes a big chunk out of their budget.
The NBA’s free agency trading window opens at 3:00 p.m. PT Friday.
The Kings surprised most NBA pundits last season by securing the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and ending their 16-season playoff drought, and veteran leadership and stability in Barnes were a big reason for that.
Sacramento was kicked out of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors in a grueling seven-game streak, but now the Kings are looking to build on that success. Even with Barnes back in the fold, they have the ability to add significant pieces to round out Mike Brown’s roster.
After the Kings were eliminated in the playoffs in early May, Barnes spoke to reporters about the possibility of returning to Sacramento.
“That would be special,” Barnes said on May 3. “I have equity in Sacramento, just been through a lot of long seasons. To finally be on the other side of that and have a collective experience and feel like I’m knocking on the door.
“…Obviously we’ve all been around. We know it’s a business; a lot of things are going on. But to continue with this group, I think it would be something special.”
Barnes has attracted interest from other teams, but in the end he will remain a member of the Kings and try to help the organization achieve its ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.